


A Pirate's Life for Me

by Ogawdy



Series: LT week 2k17 [3]
Category: Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, Liontrust Week 2017, M/M, Pirates!AU, pre slash, they're 19 and 12 so yeah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 03:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11349039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ogawdy/pseuds/Ogawdy
Summary: Liontrust week Day Three prompt: AUPirates!AUPrologueThere, amongst the wreckage, drifted a black cloth with white and red paint. It unraveled enough for Anduin to recognize the distinctive shape of a skull before the sea engulfed it. A sinking feeling lodged itself in Anduin’s stomach.





	A Pirate's Life for Me

**Author's Note:**

> A day late, but you know what they say: better late than never!

The heave shook the sea with barely a sound, waves rolling against the ship’s flank. The deck was empty and the hold was silent except for the rustling of paper in one of the cabins. A single flame was lit, wavering with the roll of the ship, and casting light on a leather bound book. On the cover, in golden lettering, the words _The Flying Dutchman and other tales of Piracy_ glistened in the red light. The young man holding the book moved his lips with each word he read, whispers of sentences escaping him.

“The story is that the Dutchman… in distress of weather… was lost and ever since, in bad weather, her vision appears.”

The man stopped here, swiping his thumb idly on his lower lip. The wind hollered against the window, but the man did not flinch. In the last few minutes, the waves had started to rock the boat more and more violently until it had impressed on the ship a large regular motion. 

“Pirates,” he whispered, and let his gaze wander out the window.

The sea was glowing under the pale moonlight. Under his eyes, the young man imagined life as a pirate, under no laws and living free of his duties as the son of a governor. It was wishful thinking but one he indulged in every night in the privacy of his room, for as long as he could remember, for his nineteen years alive.

He jumped when the flame of the candle was blown, bringing him out of his thinking. He realized then that the crew had begun to awaken, and cries of the sailors had filled the deck. The ship was being violently rocked now. 

His room suddenly illuminated as lightning hit. On the sudden bright sea, he saw the figure of a ship cut out against the dark storm clouds. Its masts formed threatening spikes rising towards the skies and its sails were black and heavy, as if dripping wet. 

The young man got up, dropping the book. A shock on the hull sent him sprawled on a small chest. He caught himself on the door’s handle, opening it wide. He painfully made his way to the ladder and arrived on the deck. 

Rain was pouring and drenching the wooden planks. Sailors were running everywhere as the captain bellowed unintelligible orders in the wind. Lightning struck all around them. The young man stumbled on the deck, heading for the railing, keeping his eyes on the horizon. He hoped to see the ship again.

“Anduin, no!”

He turned his head at the sound of his name. His father was standing on the bridge’s deck, hands on the wheel. The sight was unusual but Anduin reported his attention to the large, eyes scouring the waters.

“Get back to your cabin!”

A hard hit sent a sailor tumbling down to sea, where he lost himself in the wave. In the storm however, not one cared for one man lost. Anduin watched as he drowned, a single darker spot on the angry sea.

“Anduin!” his father was yelling behind him.

All of sudden, strong arms encircled him and he cried out in protest. He kept his eyes stubbornly set on the horizon even as he was dragged back to the hold by two of his father’s sailors. He kicked and screamed until he was thrown to the bottom of the stairs, the door slamming shut behind him.

The silence in the hold was surreal. He could still hear the cries of men, muffled by the door and the rain. The rumbling of thunder seemed distant. 

Anduin did not know how long he stayed unmoving where he had landed. He heard the storm calming itself into a drizzle and saw the light beginning to pierce under the crack of the door. Water had filtered through the planks of the decks and there was the regular sound of a drop hitting a puddle not far from his face. 

He didn’t move when the door was wrenched open, sudden light flooding the corridor and a tall figure casting its shadow down the steps.

“Get up”, he heard.

His father’s voice was hard and cold. The door swung back closed and Anduin got up.

The light outside was blinding, the sky a pearly grey that reflected the rays of the rising sun and cast a white light on everything. The sea was impossibly flat but for the wreckage littering the water. Anduin rushed to the railing, observing the pieces of wood floating towards them. There, amongst the wreckage, drifted a black cloth with white and red paint. It unraveled enough for Anduin to recognize the distinctive shape of a skull before the sea engulfed it. A sinking feeling lodged itself in Anduin’s stomach. 

“Father!” he called out.

His father approached him, wondering what he wanted. But just then, his eyes caught something else. Anduin turned back towards the sea and canvassed the area. His eyes widened suddenly as he saw, afloat on a plank of wood, a boy. 

“Man overboard!” he yelled.

The call wreaked havoc amongst the men. There were several other calls and men rushed to his side to see. He was pushed aside as they hefted the boy aboard the ship. He didn’t look more than twelve although the drenched hair and pale skin made him look so much younger. 

“He is still breathing,” said one man.

Anduin let out the breath he had been keeping. There were too many people for him to approach. Soon, however, as more and more debris reached them, the sailors realized they were passing another ship’s wreckage.

A mournful silence fell on the ship. Anduin became jittery with every passing second, not knowing what to expect from the crew. The boy was still breathing, but if he came from the wrecked ship and with what Anduin had seen in the water… If any of those men realized this had been a pirate’s ship, he was done for. 

“We need to search for other survivors,” the governor finally decided.

The group around the rescued boy dissolved slowly as two lifeboats were detached and set to sea to explore the wreckage. Dread settled in Anduin and he began to pray to whatever god pirates revere that his father’s crew do not discover the true identity of the fallen ship.

The boy was left alone, dripping on the floorboards, unconscious. Anduin approached him slowly, keeping an eye on the men left aboard who were attending to their duty. No one cared for him or the boy.

He kneeled down beside him, noticing a silver chain wrapped around his neck. He went to pick it up but a hand shot up and captured his wrist. The boy’s eyes opened and for one surreal second, they appeared of a glowing sky blue. Anduin blinked and was met with a pair of distressed brown eyes. Shaking his head confusingly, Anduin stored the memory as something to address later.

The boy’s grasp on his wrist was weak and he could have easily retrieved it. However, he did not try to fight him. Instead he spoke to him in a low voice that he wanted to be reassuring.

“It’s okay. You’re safe here. My name is Anduin Lothar.”

The boy swallowed, looking around from his spot still lying on the deck of the ship.

“Khadgar,” he said.

“Just Khadgar?” Anduin remarked jokingly. The boy flinched and met his gaze with fear. 

“Where am I?”

“You are aboard the _Stormwind_ , headed for Port Royal. This is a ship of the British Royal Navy.”

Khadgar’s eyes widened. He struggled to get up, hands scratching at the floor to find any kind of leverage. It soon became clear he was too weak though to lift himself.

“You’re okay,” tried to say Anduin. “You’re going to be fine.”

Khadgar had released his wrist, and Anduin grabbed at Khadgar’s own arm in an effort to calm him down. He trapped his flailing limbs on the floor. Khadgar looked like a wounded animal trying to run. Anduin figured the comparison might not be so far off.

“Hey,” he whispered, brushing down Khadgar’s hair with his hand in a soothing gesture. “You’re alright.”

Khadgar slowly calmed down, although he still looked afraid. Anduin let him sat up and as he did so, the necklace fell forward from where it was hidden in his shirt. A slim coin hanged from the chain, catching the light with every turn it made.

“What is this?” Anduin asked as he caught the coin.

He barely had time to recognize the distinctive mark of the pirates before the coin was snatched from him. Khadgar backed away from him, back hitting the railing.

“You can’t keep that,” Anduin said, deciding to be honest. “They will find you out if you keep it.”

Khadgar looked right and left as if looking for a way to escape. Anduin noticed how he clutched the coin to his chest, fist closed so tight his knuckles went white. It must have held a lot of meaning for him. Now, it just meant his death if he was found with it.

“Give it to me,” Anduin said.

Khadgar looked at him in shock. “What?” he let out. “No!” He shook his head when Anduin offered his hand. 

“Give it to me and I promise I will protect you.”

Khadgar seemed to hesitate.

“Anduin!”

Both their heads snapped at the sound. The governor was walking towards them. He had noticed the boy was awake. They did not have much time.

“Khadgar,” Anduin hissed, thrusting his hand forward insistently.

The coin slipped in his palm right as the governor arrived within earshot. Anduin stood up to greet his father without glancing back at the boy. He slipped the coin in his pocket, heart hammering.

“Father.”

“Has he said anything?” Governor Lothar asked, glancing once at the wide-eyed boy.

Anduin looked down at Khadgar. He looked so very small huddled against the railing yet Anduin knew what he had seen in his eyes. A kind of determination and will that Anduin could not betray.

“He said his name is Khadgar.” He swallowed. “Khadgar Trust.”

The boy at his feet started at the name, wide eyes latching themselves on his face as he did his best to ignore him. The last name came to him as a whim, but he knew he needed one to avoid any suspicion.

The governor scoffed. “Very well. Take him to the brig.”

Anduin almost protested but refrained from doing so. Two men took a step forward, lunging at the boy and taking hold of him. He tried to shake them off but the effort was too much. Consciousness left him and his head rolled back. Anduin watched as he was carried away, thoughtfully stroking the edge of the coin. 

Making sure he was alone, Anduin took out the coin from his pocket. He observed it curiously, swiping his thumb over the engraved skull and sun-like spikes surrounding it. The winds picked up and he lifted his head. Fog had collected upon the water, making it impossible to see the horizon.

Behind the fog, Anduin saw movement. He watched as the bow of an immense ship pierced the mist. With a pang of dread, he recognized it as the one he had seen during the storm. Her large back sails were torn and dripping wet and it sailed slowly, without a sound, above the water.

**Author's Note:**

> I have plans to write a multi-chaptered fic continuing on this but idk when


End file.
